What goes on in Egypt
by SeptimusMagistos
Summary: After Mana's magic launches her and Atem in the middle of the desert, they have to walk back to the palace. In the process some things come out. AtemxMana Vaseshipping . Somewhat AU.


All right, this is slightly AU. In this continuity there is no Bakura, Diabound, or Zorc. Atem's name is known, his father died a few years ago of natural causes, and his coronation went well, with not surprises. Enjoy.

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Mana breathed very slowly and quietly, not wanting to give herself away. She was planning the perfect ambush. Her keen hearing was seeking the soft footsteps of her best friend in the whole wide world. Though several other people passed by, none of them were Atem. Mana could recognize his walk anywhere. After all, all humans had a unique gait, though some of them didn't know it. And she had taken special pains to learn the steps of her Prince-back when he still was a prince. The knowledge was very useful for things like this. As soon as she heard Atem approaching she would use her signature Flying Leap Tackle Hug attack on him. It was an old favorite of hers and she just never got tired of it. The sight of her friend's face as she was about to land on his chest got more and more priceless with each time.

Then, suddenly, she heard his footsteps approaching slowly. She grinned, anticipating his approach. Just a few steps more and…

She saw his face looming over her, blocking out her light.

"Hey, Mana."

"Oh. Hi." She said sheepishly.

"You realize that the 'hiding in a vase' trick has been used a few times too many, right?" he asked. "I mean, it's only your favorite hiding place. Mine too, for that matter." He said, smiling.

"Right." She said. She really hadn't thought this through very well. "But I didn't hear you coming. Or, I did, but…"

"I stepped across very quietly. I finally got wise to the 'listening to steps' trick too."

"Oh."

"So I guess whatever devilish plan you had has failed, huh?"

"Nope!" she answered.

Before Atem could do anything, Mana reached out, grabbed his shoulders, and pulled him inside the vase, where she had been lying in wait. As the young King of Egypt fell inside, the vase overbalanced and fell down, beginning to roll on its side.

"Oh, not again!" complained Atem.

A short roll later they were somewhere (neither could be more specific than that). Instead of any orderly arrangement they were a tangled heap of arms and legs. The only reason the vase was intact was that after their first such escapade all vases in the palace were enchanted against breaking. It was a difficult feat, but generally considered worth it by everyone in the palace.

Atem groaned quietly. He was feeling rather sore. Half the impacts had been soft, cushioned by Mana's body. But for the other half he'd had to cushion _her_. That wasn't as much fun.

"What did we learn, Mana?" he questioned.

"Vases aren't stable…ouch." She answered.

"_And_?"

"And the next time I'll find a different place to ambush you from."

"Yes, fine."

Mana giggled quietly. She loved just how relaxed the Pharaoh was around her. Around everyone else he was, and always had been, highly formal, always trying to keep his dignity and maintain poise, and all that stuff. Mana was the only one who could get him to really relax. He didn't have to worry about impressing her. She liked him just the way he was, and while she respected him for all his good qualities, she would never be overawed by him like so many others seemed to be. Even when she saw him in full royal regalia, looking majestic and unapproachable, all she had to do was remember one of the many outright silly situations she'd seen him in. For instance, she could think back to the time they tried sneaking up on the birds nesting in the Nile. A lot of things went wrong that day. Or else she could recall when they arranged to pour honey down on the heads of passerby on a street not far away from the royal palace. After they emptied half the jars on innocent people who happened to have the misfortune of walking through the streets that day, they ended up using the other half on each other. The memory of Atem dripping with golden honey was enough to undermine any grandeur her friend might ever attain. So he just didn't bother.

"Shall we get out of the vase, your majesty?" she asked. Not that she was in any hurry herself. They'd managed to get untangled from each other successfully. Other than that, the vase was rather comfortable, warm from their combined body heat and awash in the Pharaoh's personal scent. It brought back a lot of pleasant memories. But they couldn't very well spend the whole day in there. For one thing, her current position would probably start giving her a cramp soon.

The pharaoh responded by action, extending his arms and pulling himself out slowly, his body brushing hers and sending a stream of excitement to her brain. Mana smiled to herself. Though she'd been Atem's best friend for as long as she could remember, these new feelings had begun to emerge only recently. Still, she wasn't scared. It was natural, wasn't it? After all, what girl didn't dream of being in his arms? But of course she had a few advantages over those other girls-like the fact that she actually got to spend time with him instead of just hoping to one day glimpse him in some procession. Or like having access to the palace grounds. The guards were accustomed to seeing her and would usually let her through just about anywhere. And while there were a few places she normally wasn't allowed, like his private bedchambers, a little magic could take care of that easily enough. Anyway, it wasn't like she had anything to be afraid of. Even if Atem didn't like her back their friendship was surely strong enough to survive anything. And hey, there was always the possibility that he _might_ feel the same way. After all, it wasn't as if there were all that many other girls around the palace. Well, unless you counted the handmaidens, but they were more like mobile furniture. If you took enough clothes off of a girl and then set her to doing things like fanning people, then once the novelty wore off other people just tended to forget that girl was even there. Mana's only other competition, barring an improbable love affair between the pharaoh and some peasant girl, were foreign princesses and noble ladies. And there was no way Atem could like one of those girls he'd never seen before more than his best friend, right? Mana sure hoped so.

"What in the name of Set?" she heard. Uh-oh, that did not sound good. She hurried to climb out of the vase herself and stand beside the pharaoh. She looked around and saw nothing but sand, for miles around.

"But…how is this even possible? We didn't roll for _that_ long, did we? I mean, it felt like a long time, but still…" she babbled.

The Pharaoh reached inside the vase and pulled out something Mana forgot about completely-her magic staff.

"Okay. What _else_ did we learn?" he asked sternly.

"Always remember to turn my staff off, especially when hiding somewhere." Mana answered sheepishly. "Sorry."

Seeing the downcast expression on her face Atem's eyes softened.

"It's okay, Mana. But I didn't think you knew how to do transportation spells yet."

"I don't." she answered.

"Well, I guess we'll be walking back, huh?" he asked.

"Uh…which way is back?" she asked.

"Good point. Well, we both know the direction finding spell, right? Let's do it on three. One…two…three."

And that's how they ended up walking through the desert. They left the vase behind, reasoning that it just wasn't worth the trouble, no matter how unbreakable.

"Uh, Atem, aren't you forgetting something?" Mana asked pointedly.

"No, I don't think so." He answered.

"You need a hat!" She reminded him. "Do you remember what happened the last time you walked around without a hat? It took us three hours to convince you you weren't a camel!"

"Well, it probably would have taken less if you hadn't tried to ride me."

"Was I supposed to just let that opportunity pass? I don't think so!" she answered laughing. "And unless you want me to have another one, you'd better figure out a way to protect that spiky head of yours."

Atem sighed and removed his cape, tying it around his head in a makeshift turban. Mana giggled again. His head looked absolutely ridiculous. The cloth strained to restrict his hair but was doing a rather poor job of it.

Atem glared at Mana momentarily but then started to laugh too. They got going in the direction of the palace. They made quite good time and passed a few miles before Atem found himself with a new problem.

"Uh, Mana?" he started.

"Yes, Your Majesty?" she asked, grinning. She loved putting him off by using official titles. She would never forget his face from the time she actually recited his official introduction, the 'he who makes the sun rise' and all.

"Would you mind it if I…took off my shirt? It's just that it's way too hot and I'm sweating, and…" Atem looked embarrassed.

"Take off whatever you want, silly!" she answered, laughing. "It's not like it'd show anything I haven't seen before!"

It was true. Over the years they'd gone swimming together too many times to count, which meant that they'd seen each other clad in loincloths-and less. It didn't happen as often in recent years, though, thus accounting for Atem's current blush.

Atem removed his shirt successfully and walked forward. Mana grinned. Atem looked really good without his shirt, his bronzed muscles out for her to see. And the blush on his face just made him much cuter. And thus they walked forward again, Mana passing the time by staring at her best friend.

After some time Atem noticed her looks and furtively glanced back. The look in Mana's eyes completely amazed him. It was soft and tender. Her eyes were almost sparkling. He gulped. Maybe now was the time.

"Mana?" he asked again.

"Yes? Do you want to take something else off?" she asked, trying to keep hope out of her voice.

"No, it's not that." He answered, blushing again. "But I have something to tell you, and I think this might be as good a time as any."

"You can tell me anything, anytime." Mana interrupted him. "You know that." She paused and added. "Temmy."

Atem bit his lips at the use of his childhood nickname. Mana could always use her naming to throw him off.

"You know, yesterday I found a letter in my room."

"Oh. Did you, now?" she questioned. Of course that didn't really surprise her.

"Well, yes. And it was…kind of a special letter. It was from a girl telling me…well…that she loved me."

"Oh." Mana knew that already, actually. She was the one who wrote the letter. That's why she had to sneak past the guards. But she hadn't actually expected him to talk to her about it, since she left it anonymous. Did he know anyway? "Well, you know, it could have been anyone. There are bound to be plenty of girls who are pining for you."

"I don't think so, Mana." He answered.

"Why not?"

"Well, for one thing, it would have to be someone who's allowed in the palace. Not many have the ability to enter it. Furthermore, it that someone would have to be familiar enough with the palace to not only know the location of my rooms, but to sneak past the guards-somehow."

"Oh. Right." Mana answered. Okay, that should have occurred to her.

"And of course she would have to be able to write."

Mana very nearly slapped herself. She completely forgot about that one. Writing was a rare skill, but since all her friends could write she didn't usually think of it that way.

"And be able to afford papyrus. Clean, new papyrus."

And that was another thing. Papyrus was extraordinarily difficult to make, so it was rather expensive. Of course, as a mage's apprentice she had access to all the papyrus she could ever need.

She looked up at Atem's eyes. He knew. He had to know. She'd been a lot more obvious than she'd intended. But…he didn't seem too angry. Actually, his eyes were crinkled in a way that looked happy. Could it be…

"Do you…do you think you know who wrote it?" she asked, her voice beginning to tremble.

"I think I have a pretty good idea." He answered. "And if it's who I think it is, then I might just feel the same way."

"Oh." She said. He was playing with her, she was sure. But the way this was going, she was willing to play along. "And do you have a plan to find out if it was that person?"

"Mana, give it up. I know your handwriting. You always do your reeds with that little bend, you know? And you can't draw a circle to save your life. It's always an oval." Atem chided.

Mana blushed heavily. Her plan had been stupid, badly concocted, and altogether embarrassing. Ra, the things she'd put in that letter! She'd used every positive hieroglyph she could think of, sometimes without a definite sequence. So at times it dissolved from sentences into something along the lines of " truth beauty grace goodness intelligence". Ugh. What was she thinking?

Then something different snapped to her mind. If he knew she was the one who wrote the note…and he said he felt the same way…did that actually mean…Atem loved her?

"Atem, are you saying that you actually…"

"Love you? Yes, I am, Mana. I love you very much."

Mana's heart raced in her chest, her head felt light, she experienced a thousand hitherto unimaginable sensations, as she realized that her dream had come true. Before she could think for too long, she surged forward to kiss Atem.

Mana felt delicious coolness spread from her mouth and through the rest of her body, even as the lightness she felt before spread out from her head. In a second or two, her entire body felt as light as a feather, and she felt as though she was soaring up into the sky. Her mind erupted with white light and she allowed herself to sink into pure bliss.

After she let go, Mana grinned stupidly and pronounced "Wow."

"Um, yeah…wow." Answered the pharaoh, moving away from his usual articulate self.

But as her initial elation wore off, Mana began to get worried.

"Atem? I'm really happy, but…is this right? I mean, I'm not someone of high status or anything, and there are bound to be objections…"

"I am the King of Egypt. I am the Master of the Universe. I am the living incarnation of the gods themselves! If anyone tries to stop me from following the path my heart shows me, they will soon know my wrath!" Atem proclaimed in the most regal manner he could. For a second Mana saw him as an outline against a crimson skies, surrounded by fallen enemies destroyed by shadow magic. But then he turned back to normal. "Not that anyone at the palace would object, anyway. Everyone loves you and they wouldn't try to make us unhappy without a very good cause." He said much more softly.

"What about the people?"

"As long as the Nile continues to swell on schedule they probably won't riot." Atem answered, grinning.

"So we are free to love each other? To marry?"

"Yes, Mana. We are."

And so the two teenagers walked off again. Childhood friends, newfound lovers, a pharaoh and an apprentice spellcaster soon to be his wife. And when they got back to the palace, everyone was in for a surprise. Except of course for the people who'd been paying any attention at all.


End file.
